(let's do it again folks...)

After a huge resonance for the thread "exploration of sounds" I decided to create with your help the same for mastering, which is something concerning all of us somehow.

I use T-Racks for mastering which is sometimes not satisfying, but I don't know about multiband compressing.

Perhaps we could post short samples of our tracks and ask the others how to improve mastering ?

Trancevision

well I'd say first off

Use as "flat" speakers as possible, like decent monitors, not computer speakers (if you only have computer speakers at least use headphones). Listen to a track you like by an artist you like in the style of music you make, for reference. No EQ-ing whatsoever of course, it's not about making it sound as good as possible, it's about making it sound as honest as possible. Then use this as a benchmark to EQ your own track.

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All rhythm evolves around a kick...

ok first of all I would like to know all the different programs avaiable for mastering and then some different techniques and pros/cons for it......so post on folks, I myself doesn't know anything yet about it....or maybe a little tip...I've heard that it's best to start with the kick and bassline and get them to sound good with eachother and then work from there

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quote:

Originally posted by davedresden i suggest getting the gabriel & dresden prog-a-minute. in 3 easy steps you too could change the face of dance music. batteries not included. - dave

i found out that to sound good u need to work good, start making a track with a little compression on the master, then make the track, as i progress on the tracks building im addink eq's and compressions as needed, then comes the balancing, u bypass the main compressor and balance everything, and then put it up again, then check out the sound of the track, and put it out to a wav file, then if u still dont like the sound of it u can edit it with some program, like n-track... the master compression is important, cos u can hear the changes as u progress on the build, and adjust the sounds exactly, and above all, practice...

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Music----is----universaL

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Ok, that's how I do it:

I arrange my track in Reason, and then move all faders of all mixers until there's no clipping anymore. After that I export it and master it in T-Racks...is works good for me, but it is far from High Quality ... Trancevision


Trancevision

quote:

Originally posted by Trancevision Ok, that's how I do it: I arrange my track in Reason, and then move all faders of all mixers until there's no clipping anymore. After that I export it and master it in T-Racks...is works good for me, but it is far from High Quality ... Trancevision Trancevision

not good @ all m8, cant u do some mastering in ur sequencer (in ur case, reason...)? the best thing is to do a little mastering in ur sequencer and then move it to a mastering prog. u can do some really really good mastering with ur sequencer when u know how to do it right, in logic (the best, IMO), cubase, even with fruity i can get a decent master... so just work it...

___________________
Music----is----universaL

Pay a visit good fella:

Xetro's MySpace

Xetro's Facebook page

What's more important than the actual mastering is how the mix sounds before mastering. If it doesn't sound good before mastering it wont sound good after mastering.

I don't think it's smart to add compression to the whole mix while you are making the song, but on the other hand adding compression to individual parts can be a smart move.


Here's a guide on how to master with Ozone (it's good reading even though if you don't use Ozone because a lot of it is pretty general)

Ozone Master Guide

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Check out my latest track:
enLounge - Secret Beach

All you need is a multicompressor for the basskick. No compression on anything else or your song will phase and sound muffled. The best of them all is a Stereo Spreader. I use Logic and its comes with its own stereo spreader and multicompressor. Im shure that ther is vst plugins that do the same.

Here are some of my tips for the mastering process:
1) Don't do it yourself if you can afford to let it being done...
2) If you mixed, don't master, after long mixing sessions, you're to intimate with the song, and you won't be able to have a general overview...
3) If you mixed, and still want to go ahead with mastering, leave the mix alone for a couple of days, and then come back for mastering.
4) Listen to your mastered mix on as many devices as possible. You'll be amazed how different your mix sounds on different systems
5) Don't master to 0 dB, rather to -0.1 dB, as some cheap cd players will distort @ 0 dB.
6) Unless you want to go "New Metal American Stylee", don't squash your mix to death... leave breathing space. Listening overcompressed / limited mixes for too long can be painfull to the ears.
7) Room accoustics are very important..., also get rid of any background noise, as this will dramatically alter your perception of the track.
8) There's other ways then compression and limiting to get smooth, even mixes. Using a master verb as an insert is one way. Don't overdo it, but the difference in levels will become smaller by using this technique.
9) Apply fade ins/outs only after the mastering process. If you do it before, your compressor will go mental, and your fade will sound absolutely unnatural.
10) Listen to what you do. Every track will need detailed attention, the one preset won't work all the time.
11) As Joe Meek said: "If it sounds right it IS right!".

Greetz,

CoolRunning

quote:

Originally posted by xfer All you need is a multicompressor for the basskick. No compression on anything else or your song will phase and sound muffled.

You can make your drumtrack sound quite warm if you compress a couple of drumsounds together. Just don't put them all in there, like a ride cymbal and some stuff you leave out so you don't get a muffled sensation. And I wouldn't compress the kick together with other sounds either. Unless you want to.

^^technically that's not mastering anyways

If you have done a good job mixing and applying effects, you will have an easy job at mastering. You can destroy a good mix with mastering, but you can't fix a bad mix with it.

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All rhythm evolves around a kick...

First of all, I make all my tracks with Fruity.
When I make a track, I put a Parametric Eq on the master fx channel and select the 'remove 20hz + 16khz+' preset, which will remove the part of the sound which our ears can't hear, but our headphones have problems with
Then I put some compression on the bassdrum only. It depends on which bassdrum I use, sometimes compression doens't sound right. Also the Parametric Eq can give some extra boost to the bassdrum.

Well, then I just make the track, use all kinds of effect etc. and save it. Next I make a wav-file of the track and put it throught the mastering program 'T-racks'. There I try to get the volume as close to 0dB without getting overs etc., apply some 'stereo enhancing' with the Tube Compressor which makes the sound richer. When all this is done, I save it again as a master wav-file...

Sounds ok, but not as good as I want to! What am I doing wrong? Anyone has more tips and stuff?

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--Born to synthesize--

before loading your track into some decent mastering program, make sure that all sounds in your song/mix souds right... that there is no part where something is too loud/quiet.

try to prepare your drum/bass to sound right before you add melody or whatever.

i use fruity and piano roll fe. you know those lines down there where you choose cut/res/vol... well the volume is the most important for me. i can keep the main volume of a sound at one level and use that to adjust it to fit the mix...

make sure you eq your samples/synths/bass right. fe you dont need those high frequencies in bass or drum. remove it. with eq you should remove ALL the frequencies your sound doesn't use from ALL your samples..

i usually do all this stuff, add a little compression to master, eq the master if needs eq-ing, export it to wave not too loud (using the master volume) and then load it in wavelab and/or use waves C1 compressor (neat thing ). finally if it needs more eq-ing i use that cheap one from cooledit (30 band)... normalize and that's it.

finally listen to your master on some good speakers, or better many of them, LOUD. i usually go to few of my friends and listen it there too.

hope this helps...